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For People with ADHD & Those Who Love Them |
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Cogmed Working Memory Training Outline: Everything You Want To Know About ADHD
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Return to ADDvisor Volume 2 2000 Index
In this issue: 1. Tips on the Management of Adult ADD - Part 2 2. Resource - Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults Workbook
TIPS ON THE MANAGEMENT OF ADULT ADD - PART 2
Last month we listed the first of four categories of management tips for adults with ADHD created by Edward Hallowell, MD and John Ratey, MD. This month, we will continue to share these very useful strategies that Drs. Hallowell and Ratey has proposed. The four categories are: 1)insight and education; 2)performance management; 3)mood management; and 4)interpersonal life. This month we will share the suggestions for performance management. 1. External structure Structure is the hallmark of the management of ADHD. Use lists, notes to yourself, color-coding, rituals, reminders, files. The PDAs (personal digital assistants) such as the Palm, Handspring Visor, etc. are very helpful organizers. 2. Color-coding. Many ADHD people are visually oriented and color can help call attention to things, thus making them easier to remember. 3. Use pizzazz. In keeping with #2, make your environment as peepy as you want without overwhelming you. 4. Set up your environment to reward rather than to deflate. A deflating environment (remember what it was like in school) will hinder motivation. Try to set things up so you are not constantly reminded of your limitations. 5. Acknowledge and anticipate. Expect that a certain percentage of your projects undertaken, relationships entered into and obligations incurred with collapse. 6. Embrace challenges ADHD people thrive on challenges. As long as you are realistic about success (see #5), give it a shot. You’ll get more done. 7. Make deadlines Think of deadlines as motivators rather than echoes of doom. Make them and stick to them. Use your PDA to remind you of them. 8. Break down large tasks into small ones. Attach deadlines to the small tasks and then the large ones get done. Large tasks may feel overwhelming. Smaller tasks are more manageable. 9. Prioritize Put first things first. Procrastination is the enemy of adults with ADHD. Watch out for it and avoid it. 10. Accept fear of things going too well Accept feeling edgy when things seem too easy. Try not to shake things up just for some stimulation. 11. Notice how and where you work best Individuals with ADHD often do their best in the oddest situations. Learn what is best for you: working in front of the TV and stereo, in a crowded room, etc. 12. Know that it is okay to do two things at once. Often, people with ADHD need to be doing several things at once in order to do anything at all. 13. Do what you are good at Even if it seems easy, try to do the things you are good at and not only what you are bad at. 14. Leave time between engagements to gather your thoughts Transitions are difficult for people with ADHD so scheduling breaks in between can help make the transition easier. 15. Keep a notepad in your car, by your bed, and in your pocketbook or jacket. You never know when a good idea will hit you or when you need to remember something. 16. Read with a pen in hand. Use the pen to jot down "margin" notes but also any other idea that may come to you.
RESOURCE
The Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults Workbook by Lynn Weiss is designed to give practical, hands-on methods of coping with ADD. You can order it from ADD Warehouse by clicking on the banner on this page. CONTACT INFORMATION _______________________ Alan R. Graham, Ph.D. Bill Benninger, Ph.D. ADDvisor.com Voice: 1-866-ADDvisor Fax: 847-824-2386 Email: Alan@ADDvisor.com Bill@ADDvisor.com Web: www.ADDvisor.com
c) Copyright 2000 ADDvisor.com, Ltd. All rights reserved The above material may be retransmitted or distributed to whomever you wish as long as not a single word is changed, added or deleted, including the contact information. However, you may not copy it to a web site. Republication of "The ADDvisor" in paper media is encouraged and permitted by organizations and associations which serve parents of ADHD children at the national, state and/or local level as long as the issue is reprinted in its entirety without charge and includes the contact information. With advance permission, we are happy to edit an issue to fit your space requirements. Republication is also encouraged under other circumstances, however, the advance permission of Alan R. Graham and/or Bill Benninger must be obtained in the event that changes in the text are desired or republication is to be made by individuals or by organizations other than those mentioned above.
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